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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. hand — in cards
  5. root — the cause
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. fall — the season
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fall — to drop
  10. land — to come down
  11. rule — government
  12. land — ground
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. root — of a word
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. hand — help
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. land — a country
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. rule — a law
  24. root — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com